Collaborative VR in construction

Jennifer Whyte, Centre for Systems Engineering and Innovation

Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering

Outline

1. Progress - 2nd edition of book "Virtual Reality and the

Built Environment”

2. Development of a 3D Mobile Visualization Environment

(3D-MOVE) to take collaborative VR out of the

University

3. Use of 3D-MOVE in 'Crossrail' project in London for

design review

Pre 1950s 1950-1970s 1970-1985 1986-1995 1996-2005 2006-2015

• Whirlwind – the

first real-time

computer

• Keyboards

• Cathode Ray

Tube (CRT)

displays

• Flight

simulation

• Light pens

• The mouse

• Head-mounted

displays

(HMDs)

• CG / HCI /

haptics

• Sketchpad –

the first CAD

application

• Sketchpad III –

the first 3D

CAD

application

• Advanced

rendering of 3D

objects (Gourand,

Phong shading

etc.)

• Networked

computing for

processing

complex graphics

• Walkthrough – the

first interactive

architectural

walkthrough

• First commercial VR -

SGI leads hardware

market and develops

3D APIs – Open GL,

Inventor and

Performer

• Commercial software

from Evans &

Sutherland, Multigen

Paradigm, WTK,

Division etc.

• Peripherals -treadmill,

BOOM and

Fakespace’s CAVE

and Immersadesk

1st Generation

High-end

computing in

VR research

laboratories

• Introduction of

mouse and joystick• Gloves, active and

passive stereo, PC-

based graphics

cards

• PC-based VR

software e.g. VPL

Research, Virtuality

and Superscape

• Web-based 3D

• Multi-user worlds

• VRML 1.0

• Basic translation

from CAD to VR

• Motion capture

• Volume

visualization

• Auto-

stereoscopic

displays and

flexible ‘roll up’

screens

• 3D laser

scanning

• CAD to VR and

GIS to VR

translation

• PC-based

software

• VRML, Direct 3D,

Force feedback,

sketching devices,

tablets

2nd Generation

Desktop and

mobile

computing at

consumer

product prices

3rd Generation

HMDs, smart

phones and

computing at

consumer

product prices

2006-2015

Examples:

• Google glasses, google

cardboard, oculus rift, Daqri

• Unity and unreal gaming

engines

• CAVE 2, Mission Room,

igloo

Research on virtual reality and augmented reality in construction

Reconfiguring a 1990s ‘CAVE’ at University of Reading

to run Windows with MiddleVR and Unity

Crossrail – A £13bn railway across London

Crossrail – A £13bn railway across London

“Urban heart surgery”

Interdisciplinary Design Reviews using the 3D Mobile Visualization Environment (3D-MOVE), Crossrail Innovate 18 Project

with Dr Laura Maftei, who took photo, and Dr Dragana Nikolic

Data Science Institute, Imperial College London

Close

1. Sought to make a case for collaborative VR for some

applications

2. Looking for ‘use cases’ of all types of AR/VR in the

planning, design, construction and operation of

buildings, infrastructure and cities

2nd Edition co-authored with Dragana

Nikolic in preparation

@vrandbe

Collaborative VR in construction

Jennifer Whyte, Centre for Systems Engineering and Innovation

Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering